Under the neatly scattered stars in the dark night sky, Raymond could be seen sitting on a broken piece of wood. His body remained still, but his mind was loud, filled with countless whispers.
(Crick-crick: the sound of crickets)
"Ughh..."
"What else can I do... how am I supposed to find those bastards when I don't even have any power at all...!?" he muttered in his mind.
While staring at the moon hanging in the night sky, Raymond kept thinking endlessly.
"Damn it... damn it... damn it..."
"I can't stay like this."
(Scritch-scritch: the sound of him scratching his hair)
In his restlessness, a large shadow appeared in front of him.
"Hey... you cripple," the voice said mockingly.
Ignoring the voice, Raymond remained lost in his thoughts, as if his mind was about to drift away completely.
"Bastard... acting all high and mighty!?"
Suddenly, the person in front of him grabbed Raymond by the collar.
"Hey, cripple, you think you're better than me now!?"
(Woosh: the sound of the night wind)
With a cold and sharp gaze, Raymond looked at the person in front of him-it was a young man around his age.
His body was large, with fat spilling out from his dirty and worn clothes.
Annoyed by Raymond's stare, the man suddenly spat toward his face without hesitation.
(Spit)
Raymond quickly tilted his head to avoid it.
"Bastard... who are you!?" he said coldly.
"Who am I...? Maybe I'm the one who killed your family... including your mother...!?" the boy said mockingly.
"Shut your mouth, bastard..."
"Trash like you doesn't have the right to order me around!" the boy sneered.
Raymond's emotions snapped. His fists clenched tightly, his pupils narrowed.
"Take back what you just said... you bastard."
"No."
"I won't," he replied with a mocking tone.
Without thinking any further, Raymond lunged forward and bit the boy's ear.
"Gahhh...!" the boy screamed loudly.
"Damn you... you're insane!"
His body writhed in pain as he clutched his torn ear.
Raymond stood there, feeling a twisted sense of satisfaction from his retaliation.
"If you're really the one who killed my mother... then I'll kill you too-whether it's true or not."
"I'll count to three. If you don't get up... I'll really kill you."
But at that moment, a loud shout came from the distance.
"Hey... stop!"
Two officers appeared from the darkness and quickly forced Raymond to the ground.
"What the hell are you doing!?" one of them shouted.
Calmly, Raymond replied,
"I was just defending myself."
"Ahh... officer! This bastard attacked me-help me!" the boy cried out.
"Take him to the medic!"
The officer looked at Raymond with disgust.
"A complete animal... this world really is like a jungle-only the strong get to rule," he muttered in his heart.
With the sound of an owl echoing in the distance, Raymond spoke again.
"So... can I leave now?"
"If you cause trouble here again, we won't hesitate to kill you."
"Hah... we'll see who ends up dead," Raymond muttered quietly.
The officer finally released him before being called away by their commander.
"Damn... my wrist got twisted because of that bastard."
Realizing his condition wasn't good, Raymond decided not to stay outside any longer.
"I should just go rest and recover..."
He returned to his tent and lay down. As his eyes slowly closed, his body suddenly felt like it was melting.
"What the hell... is this?"
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in the same dimension where he had met that woman before.
"This... isn't this the same place as before!?"
Confused, he looked around while pinching himself.
"Damn it... this isn't a dream."
Soon after, the fog-filled dimension began to change. Mountains and trees appeared everywhere.
"What's going on...? Why is this place changing...!?"
The white mist slowly transformed into beautiful clouds.
"Welcome."
"Welcome back, human."
"To your place...!?"
(The familiar voice of the woman echoed)
Raymond looked around, trying to locate where the voice was coming from.
"Hey... crazy woman, where are you!?" he shouted.
"Stop treating me like some kind of puppet!"
Suddenly, a massive shadow appeared behind the mountains.
"I'm right here... you foolish human."
(Her voice echoed across the entire space)
"Did you miss me?" she said playfully.
"What is this place!?" Raymond asked.
"This is my dimension. Here, I can do anything I want... including torturing you to death," she said jokingly.
Trying to stay rational, Raymond forced himself to remain calm.
"Alright... then why did you bring me here?"
"Hm... I want to give you a chance to make a request, since you helped me."
"A request? What are you, some kind of god?" Raymond scoffed.
"Haha... that was a terrible joke. So, what do you want, human?"
Raymond hesitated at the offer.
"I don't trust you... someone like you helping me? That's hard to believe."
"Well... if you don't want it, I lose nothing."
"Damn it... what if she's telling the truth? I could avenge my family... but what if she's lying?" he thought.
Growing impatient, the woman began to count.
"Oi... you're taking too long. I'll count to three. If you don't answer, I'll cancel it."
"Whether I like it or not... I have to gamble everything now. This is my only path."
"Help me... take revenge on those filthy bastards who destroyed my family," he said, his eyes filled with hatred.
She laughed softly.
"Haha… I like your spirit, human. But are you truly worthy of that request?" the woman said.
"Hey, you said you would grant my wish!" Raymond snapped.
Suddenly, the woman began chanting strange words once again.
In an instant, the aura around them turned extremely cold, and a crushing force pressed Raymond down, forcing his body to collapse under an overwhelming gravity.
"But with such a weak body… even an ordinary human could drag you back into the depths of hell."
"Damn you… what are you doing!?"
"Hahaha… look at yourself. That dream of
yours… it's impossible to achieve with such a weak body."
Raymond couldn't move his body at all.
(Thud—his body slammed hard against the ground.)
(The dimension around them began to crack)
"Damn it… I won't give up!" he shouted.
With all his strength, he tried to rise-but each time, he was forced back down.
Blood began to flow from his eyes, ears, and nose.
"Look at you… your dream is already dead."
"You're underestimating human determination!" he roared.
"A human's dream will keep living… until death itself comes to claim it!"